Refrigerating mechanism



July 7, 1936- w. w. WILLIAMS 2,046,567

I REFRIGERATING MECHANISM Filed June 28, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INIENTOR. h/HL TE W. W/L L li /16 A TTORNEY.

Patented July 7, 1936 1 9 7 UNITED STATES PATENT orries nsmrqaaermo MECHANISM Walter w. Williams, Blooming ton, m. Application June-28,1934, Serial No. 732,778 a I 3 Claims. (c1. 62-115) 7 This invention relates to improvements in refrom the bearings and the gaseous refrigerant frigerating mechanisms and more particularly to the removal of the lubricant employed in the mechanism of a compression type of refrigerating apparatus.

' It is an object of this invention to prevent the lubricant necessary to the efficient operation of the compressor from being carried over with .the compressed gaseous refrigerant into the evaporator. a

With this and other objects in view,- reference I is made to-the acccmpanyingsheets of drawing X Figure 2 is a transverse central, vertical section taken on the line 2-2, Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows, with, parts shown in elevation.

The type of compressor illustrated includes a crank shaft i driven by a pulley 2 connected by belts 3 to any convenient source of power, not shown. The shaft I is mounted to rotate in the bearings 4 and 5 mounted" in a crank case 6. 1 The compression cylinders I are mounted upon the upper side of the crank case, and pistons 8 and 9 are reciprocated therein in the usual manner. The bearings of thecrank shaft s and 5 and the bearings of the eccentric straps i0 upon the crank eccentrics ii are lubricated "by a pump IQ, of any desired construction, which forcesthe lubricant through ducts l4, l5, I8, I], 40 and I8, in the shaft and eccentrics, to the respective bearings. The gaseous refrigerant is returned from the low-side of the evaporator, not shown,--by-the. pipe l9, which, in turn, communicates through the ports to the interior of the upper side of the crank case 6. Thegaseous compressed re- 'fri gerant leaving the cylinders l is discharged through the cylinder head 2i and pipe 22 to the high-side of the evaporator in a manner hereinafter described. I I

The lubricant forced by the pump it to the various bearings of the compressor will exude j therefrom, and as the crank and crank eccentrics normally rotate at a high rate of speed when the machine is in operation, the lubricant forced returned from the low-side of the evaporator through ports 20 will be beaten to a froth so that o'us refrigerant as may be entrained therein will drain from the bottom of the crank case into the, sump 23. The pipe 22 leading the com pressed refrigerant from the cylinder head 2| 16 is pa'ssedlongitudinally through the sump casing 23 adjacent the bottom thereof so that the heat, of the gaseous refrigerant just compressed will be transmitted to the lubricant in the sump 23, raising the temperature thereof and caus ingthe gaseous refrigerant contained therein to be-expelled therefrom. The gaseous refrigerant collecting above the levelof the lubricant will pass through pipe 2 leading from the top of the lubricant sump casing 23 and be discharged through the port 25 adjacent the open end of the cylinders communicating with the upper end of the crank case 6. A lubricant pipe 25 is connected to the suction side of the pump l3 and to the lowermost side of the lubricant sump caslog 23 whereby the action ofthe pump draws the lubricant freed of the entrained gaseous refrigerant from the sump 23 to the pump IS.

A certain amount'of'the lubricant will be carried over with the gaseous refrigerant through of the crank case opposite the low-side admission 40 ports 20. This trap is in the form of a cylindrical casing secured to the crank case 8 and communicates with a passage 21 formed in the con- 1 tiguous wall of the crank case 6 preferably below the center of the lubricant trap 26. This passage 21 is provided with a float-operated valve 28. Tire end of the casing 26 opposite thecrank case is provided with a closure 29 preferably containing a vertical passageway 30 open at the top to which the pipe 22 is attached and opening at the bottom through port 3i to the bottom of the casing 26. The interior of the casing 26 is provided with a semi-cylindrical concentric bafv 2 I b which baiiie extends from the closure as w a point adjacent the crank case ii. The upper side of the casing 25 above the baiile 32 is provided with a port 34 leading to a casing 35 supporting and communicating with'a pressure gauge 38 and with a pipe 81 leading the compressed refrigerant As the passage 30 opens at'right angles throughport3l into the lubricant trap, part of the entrained lubricant will be separated out by the blow received at the lower end of the passage It.

The gaseous refrigerant and entrained lubricant entering the lubricant trap will pass upward about the float and receive another blow when striking the bafiie- 32, which will separate such 4 ot the lubricant as is carried over with the refrigerant, and the gaseous refrigerant will then pass about the battle through passageway 36 and pipe 31 on its way to the evaporator. The level of the lubricant collecting in the bottom of the casing 28 will gradually rise as the lubricant is separated from the gaseous refrigerant, so that after the .level has risen above the passagewb'l', the gaseous ire-- frigerant passing therethrough will bubble -up through the collected lubricant and remove still more lubricant from the refrigerant. The float-.-

operated valve is so arranged that the level of the lubricant will be above the passage 21in the crank case 5 before the float is lifted to open the valve 28 and allow. the excess lubricant to return through passage 21 to the crank case and slump 28.

ac-taco? evaporator of a closed compression type of refrigerating apparatus employing a forced lubrication system consisting of expelling the re- 1 rriseraht from the lubricant entrained in the crank case of the compressor before the refrigerant enters the compression cylinders of the com- .pressor, and removing the lubricant carried over with the refrigerant as it leaves the compressor before the compressed refrigerant enters the evaporator.

2; The method set 'forth inclaim 1, wherein the lubricant expelled and removed from the refrigerant before delivery to the evaporator forms a lubricant supply for the forced lubrication ystem. e

3. in avrefrigerating apparatus of the closed compression type, including an evaporator and a compressor having itsdriving shaft mountedin a closed crank case with said crankcase incommunication with a conduit leading from the low pressure side of the evaporator and opening into the compression cylinders of the compressor sure side of the evaporator, a lubrication sump g communicating with the bottom of the crank case, and exterior means for forcing lubricant from the sump through the compressor the method of removingthe lubricant entrained within the refrigerant before the refrigerant passes into the evworator, including the expelling oi' the refrigerant entrained in the lubricafit and collected in the sump before entering the Jcompression cylinders by passing'the conduit leading to the high side of the evaporator therethrough and removing the lubricant carried over i with the compressed refrigerant before it enters the evaporator by providing the conduit after passing through the sump with a pressure-actuated lubricant trap. 4

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